Endorsements

Former U-T reporter, columnist and social media director Matthew T. Hall is in his 16th year at The San Diego Union-Tribune and in his first year as its editorial and opinion director. In today’s Back Story, he talks about taking the reins of the U-T’s editorial board during such a divisive election....

Over the last several months, we’ve been sharing the candidates and ballot measures endorsed by The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board. We still have a few endorsements to make, but we’re pretty much done as you'll see at the following link. Union-Tribune Editorial Board Endorsements Since...

The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board endorsed a number of candidates for the 2016 general election. Click their names to read more about why we chose them. Click here to see our endorsements in state and local ballot measures. And to learn more about how we made our endorsements this year...

In February, the Legislature discussed putting a $9 billion school construction bond on the November ballot, saying many districts had major needs and that it was only appropriate for the state government to help out. Gov. Jerry Brown was quick to denounce the proposal, which eventually became...

In 2009, with state revenue plunging as the recession took hold, the California Legislature executed something akin to an accounting trick to get more money out of the federal government for the Medi-Cal program, the primary provider of health care to poor residents. For every dollar the state...

Wealthy Stockton farmer Dean Cortopassi thinks politicians regularly pile up debt that the public would object to if it had the chance. This led him to fund a signature-gathering campaign that placed Proposition 53 on the Nov. 8 ballot. The measure mandates that voters must approve revenue bonds...

More Endorsements

The easiest yes vote on any state ballot measure before voters this November is on Proposition 54. The Legislature Transparency Act bans the California Legislature from passing a bill unless it has been available for review on the internet for at least 72 hours, with narrow exceptions for emergency...

Proposition 30 — the successful November 2012 ballot measure authorizing temporary increases in the sales taxes paid by everyone and on the income taxes paid by the very wealthy — was sold to California voters with a cynical tactic. Lawmakers passed a state budget that would only pencil out if...

Proposition 56 would increase the state tax on cigarettes by $2 per pack — from 87 cents to $2.87 — and up the taxes on other tobacco products by a similar percentage. Thirty-six states have higher tobacco taxes than California, which hasn’t raised its rate since 1999. According to the Legislative...

America needs far-reaching criminal justice reform. The U.S. warehouses many nonthreatening individuals in costly prisons without good reason. Our nation has less than 5 percent of the world’s population and, astonishingly, about 22 percent of its prisoners. And research shows that mass incarceration...

In 1998, California voters approved a general ban on teaching students in languages other than English over the sharp criticism of the California education establishment. Why did Proposition 227, sponsored by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Ron Unz, win in a landslide? Because people understood that...

Californians are confronted with a daunting task this November: sorting through 17 statewide ballot measures and deciding how to vote on a range of issues from the death penalty to recreational marijuana use to complex new rules for pharmaceutical pricing and large state bonds. Like us on Facebook...

Proposition 60 would mandate the use of condoms by the adult film industry in California and would require that the producers of pornography, not the performers, bear the cost of regular testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The lead sponsor of the proposition — Michael Weinstein of the AIDS...

At a time of public anger over some drug companies’ price gouging, Proposition 61 has a natural appeal. It would mandate that state agencies pay no more for prescription drugs than the discounted prices paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, with an exemption for prescription drugs bought...

The debate over the death penalty usually hinges on this question: Is it ethical to take the life of a person who is found guilty of a heinous crime? If you don’t think so, than obviously you should vote yes on Proposition 62, which would end the death penalty in California, and no on Proposition...

Proposition 63, which qualified for the Nov. 8 ballot after a signature-gathering campaign led by Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, would build on gun-law changes approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this summer — and in important ways go further to regulate ammunition. he...

Perhaps the most high-profile measure on the Nov. 8 ballot, Proposition 64 wouldn’t just legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults in California. It would set up a regulatory framework that governed licensing, advertising, labeling and testing for a multibillion-dollar industry. It would...

This editorial board has historically opposed single-use plastic bag bans, arguing against them repeatedly, on the local and state level. But this summer San Diego became the 150th municipality in the state to ban plastic checkout bags, and these days a statewide ban seems as inevitable as it could...

Measure A, which would add a half-cent to sales taxes to pay for transportation and infrastructure projects around San Diego County, is a relic from the 20th century, built on theories and assumptions likely to be undercut if not demolished by the rise of driverless, low-polluting vehicles and...

Three weeks ago, the San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board opposed Measure A, which would add a half-cent to sales taxes to pay for infrastructure and transportation projects around San Diego County. We said the San Diego Association of Governments’ proposal was built on outdated assumptions...

California is in desperate need of new housing. Once the cost of living is factored in, the Golden State has the highest rate of poverty in the nation, with more than one in five households living paycheck to paycheck. The prime reason is the extreme cost of housing. So this editorial board has...

The Los Angeles Chargers? The prospect of San Diego’s much-loved football team leaving for L.A. has never felt more real. Last week, team spokesman Fred Maas, advocating for a new $1.8 billion downtown stadium, advised voters in a Voice of San Diego commentary, “Whatever you do, do not let the...

Since The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board published its editorial recommending San Diegans vote no on Measures C and D, it has received both constructive and critical feedback in online comments on the editorial, on social media, in letters to the editor and in person. Editorial: Vote...

Voters in San Diego have a lot of tough calls to make on candidates and ballot proposals this fall, but that doesn’t apply to Measure E and Measure F on the city ballot. Both are straightforward fixes for genuine problems. Measure E would remove the mayor, city attorney or City Council members...

For many decades, law enforcement across the United States has enjoyed broad goodwill, but there have been exceptions. African-American communities in cities large and small consider police brutality and harassment a fact of life. Yet for the most part, law enforcement officers have always been...

Arguably the least controversial ballot proposal to go before San Diego voters this election, Measure H would amend the City Charter by eliminating inconsistencies between the charter and state laws when it comes to how the city purchases and contracts services. The top of the ballot argument signed...

With its origins dating back to 1882, San Diego High School is a treasured community landmark and gathering place. One of California’s oldest public schools, its thousands of graduates have gone on to enrich San Diego in many ways. In off-school hours, the high school regularly hosts dozens of...

In 2008, then-Councilman Kevin Faulconer helped secure the passage of Proposition C by telling San Diego voters they were “saving Mission Bay Park” with a yes vote by requiring that only 25 percent of the lease revenues generated over $20 million in Mission Bay Park could be spent outside the park....

Two measures on the November ballot are being billed, legitimately, as the biggest changes to San Diego’s election rules since the creation of a ninth City Council district in 2010 or, more broadly, the switch from at-large City Council seats to district-only elections in 1988. This editorial board...

Under a provision that voters wrote into the California Constitution in 1950, some public agencies are not allowed to spend money on units of subsidized housing for low-income residents without specific authorization of voters. The rule applies to the city of San Diego, its Housing Authority and...

Proposition 64, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California, is doing well in the polls and seems likely to pass. But however San Diegans feel about legalizing pot, we recommend that city voters support Measure N, which allows the city to place a 5 percent tax on pot sales...

Voters will pick between incumbent Supervisor Dave Roberts, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar, in San Diego County’s District 3, which spans Escondido, much of northern San Diego and part of the coast (Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar). We endorsed Gaspar ...

District 9, which includes City Heights, College Area, Kensington, Talmadge and other neighborhoods, was created five years ago due to San Diego’s population changes. The commission that added a ninth district to the city’s existing eight drew District 9 as the city’s second Latino-majority district....

San Diegans face a difficult but rewarding decision in the runoff election for San Diego city attorney because both candidates are highly qualified. Mara Elliott is a 20-year public-sector lawyer whose management and leadership experience as a chief deputy under current City Attorney Jan Goldsmith...

If experts were to design our public schools from scratch, we would do things far differently. We wouldn’t have a long, harmful gap in teaching every year, a vestige of the 19th century, when farmers’ children helped with the summer crop. We wouldn’t start class before 8:30 a.m., a practice that...

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, has been an effective, influential congressman almost since he began representing north San Diego County in 2001. Yet he’s become increasingly controversial. The wealthy tech entrepreneur’s district was reshaped by redistricting in 2012 and now includes a chunk of southern...

Scott Peters was first elected to the House in 2012 to represent the 52nd Congressional District, which spans from Coronado across much of northern San Diego to Poway. During his campaign, the former San Diego City Council president — a Democrat and a lawyer — vowed to be a pragmatic centrist who...

It’s been 24 years since California elected someone new to the U.S. Senate. In state Attorney General Kamala Harris, voters have a strong replacement for retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer. Harris is an incisive, eloquent, even-tempered leader with a commitment to criminal justice reform and potential...

Sixteen months into his campaign, Donald Trump remains Donald Trump. Despite constant counsel from GOP advisors and insiders to adopt a decorous public persona, Trump continues to lash out at critics, to insist complex problems can be solved with little effort and to depict an America that’s been...

Since The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board endorsed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump for president of the United States, it has been flooded with responses — both constructive and critical — in online comments on the editorial, on social media, in letters to the editor and in person. Endorsement: Why...

Proposition 50, the only state ballot measure in front of voters on Tuesday, would amend the state Constitution to allow the Assembly or Senate to suspend members without pay and benefits with a two-thirds vote. Presently, the Assembly or Senate can punish wayward members by expelling them on a...

That seven measures on the San Diego ballot have received so little attention this spring is no big deal: One is an obvious good idea and the other six clean up outdated language in the City Charter, an 85-year-old document that could use some revision. How the U-T made endorsements this election...

Donald Trump has become the standard-bearer of the Republican Party, defeating all 16 other GOP presidential candidates ahead of Tuesday’s primary. Now the majority of them support him, as do other prominent Republicans and millions of American voters who see in him hope after years of feeling...

For some time now, it has appeared a foregone conclusion that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic presidential nominee. But on Tuesday, California voters still get to weigh in. Democrats and decline-to-state voters can choose among Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and lesser-known Democratic...

Gov. Jerry Brown’s April decision to sign a bill raising the minimum wage to $15 for medium-size and large employers and to $14 for small employers in California gradually over the next five and a half years makes Proposition I, the minimum-wage hike on city ballots, a bad idea. How the U-T...

Proposition H, San Diego City Councilman Mark Kersey’s “Rebuild San Diego” measure, advances a big idea with a much-criticized tactic. How the U-T made endorsements this election It would amend the city charter by requiring that for 30 years, a large portion of increased sales tax revenue...

The county supervisor race in District 3 — which includes north-northeast San Diego, Escondido, Encinitas and other north coastal cities — is frustrating. Each of the three candidates has many devoted admirers and appear committed to public service. But all have flaws. With incumbent Dave Roberts,...

The race to replace San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald features four candidates who know the community well, which bodes very well for residents in District 9. But if those residents are looking for stark differences among the candidates, they won’t find them. Consider how the candidates...

With the June 7 election nearly here, let’s think back to the last time voters chose a new mayor for America’s eighth largest city — and why. How the U-T made endorsements this election Who can forget San Diego in the wake of former Mayor Bob Filner’s disastrous 261 days in office in 2013?...

San Diego voters have a wealth of good options in the city attorney’s race — five credible, well-spoken, well-informed candidates to replace Jan Goldsmith, who is termed out. Goldsmith’s office has had its share of problems, including overzealous prosecution of a chalk-wielding protestor, “testing...

There are two incumbents seeking re-election on the San Diego City Council this year, and both deserve your vote. Mark Kersey is the incumbent in District 5, which includes Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Peñasquitos in northern San Diego, and Scott Sherman...

With incumbent Todd Gloria leaving because of term limits, the City Council District 3 race features an interesting example of an increasingly common California phenomenon: voters being asked to choose not between a Democrat and Republican but between a Democrat who is more of an orthodox liberal...

In a field of five on the June 7 ballot, Barbara Bry and Ray Ellis are easily the most accomplished and ready to succeed Sherri Lightner as the next San Diego City Council member from District 1, representing communities that include La Jolla, University City, Carmel Valley and Pacific Highlands...

Over the last two months, The San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board held a series of interviews with 28 local candidates on the June 7 ballot. Over the next week, we will share our impressions of them with you in endorsements in the races for San Diego mayor, San Diego city attorney, San Diego...

If you’re a county resident who hasn’t voted yet, please be aware that there are some very important races that appear to be close where every last ballot matters. Here are five: San Diego City Council District 6: The race is between two political newcomers hoping to represent a district ranging...

There are a lot of pernicious, deceitful things in politics these days. One of those pernicious and deceitful things is called a slate mailer. Voters need to be wary when one shows up in the mailbox. Many slate mailers are produced by private companies seeking only to make a profit. Candidates...

Since the election of Jack O’Connell in 2002, the California superintendent of public instruction has essentially served as a subordinate of two labor unions — the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers. O’Connell’s subservience was so complete that no one batted...

In a commentary in this newspaper last month, former San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne lamented the rapid growth of the state’s prison population, noting that it far outpaced overall population growth. He was right. He noted that the Legislature over the years had enacted hundreds and hundreds...

Gov. Jerry Brown is very likely to win a fourth term as governor in a month’s time. He benefits from a media narrative that would have us believe he’s “turned California around.” And he’s running against a little-known political novice, Neel Kashkari of Orange County, a former Treasury Department...

In a political season in which campaigning by deceit has almost become the norm, two local campaigns stand out for their flimflam — the City Council campaign of Steve Padilla in Chula Vista and the City Council campaign of Carol Kim in San Diego. Padilla in particular displayed his duplicity in...